Projectile apparatuses



May 14, 1963 M. P. WOLVERTON PROJECTILE'APPARATUSES' 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Nov. 7, 1960 INVENTOR, Wife/WE fl/Vm/Mm/v BY 3; Z

May 14, 1963 M. P. WOLVERTON PROJECTILE APPARATUSES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Nov. 7. 1960 W R A. .MW w 2 n 5 v w M w M 3,089,476 Patented May14, 1963 3,989,476 PROIECTILE APPARATUSEES Marcine P. Wolverton,Franklin kark, ill, assignor to Midway Mannfactnring (30., FranklinPark, 111., a corporation of Illinois Filed Nov. 7, 1360, Ser. No.67,663 4 Claims. (Cl. 124-11) My invention relates to novel improvementsin projectile apparatuses. More specifically, the invention has to dowith a novel and efiective arrangement for delivering a ball or likeprojectile from a storage position to and from a ball directorpreferably in the form of a simulated gun, with a maximum degree ofvelocity.

It is an object of the invention to accomplish this novel feature bydispensing with the usual and conventional compressor and storage tank,using in lieu thereof a motor-driven blower for lifting the ball or likeprojectile from a remote point to the barrel of the gun and forprojecting the same through the latter with a maximum degree of speed.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel combination and arrangement of partsto be hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings showing the preferred form of construction, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view ofa cabinet showing myinvention associated therewith;

FIG. 2 is a sectional detail view taken substantially on line 2-2 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional detail view taken substantially on line 3-3 ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a suggested circuit for the invention.

The cabinet with which my invention is to be associated may be of anypreferred type. My invention may be used with the conventional open typetarget range or shooting gallery without anymaterial modifications. Ineither case, a deck or supporting plate It is provided: On this plate 1%there is movably mounted in any suitable manner, as at 11, a swivelcarriage 13 which pivotally supports as at 14 a ball director 14 in theform of a simulated rifle, pistol or the like. Such device 14 in thepresent instance is shown in the form of a pistol and includes the usualtrigger 15 which controls an electric circuit hereinafter referred to.

Communicating with the barrel 16- of the pistol 14 is a conduit 17 whichextends through an enlarged opening 18 formed in the deck plate it andhas its lower end portion 19 disposed a predetermined distance below thedeck plate 10. The conduit 17 is of flexible construction so as to beadapted to conform to the movements of the carriage 13, and may beformed of such material as will best serve the purpose. Such conduit 17together with the barrel 16 forms an unobstructed passage for the ball,the barrel serving to direct the ball in the direction of the target atwhich it is aimed. Secured to a wall 20 is a hopper 21 into which spentballs are received. The base of the hopper 21 communicates with anoutlet tube 22 to which is secured an end portion of a conduit 23 whichin the present instance is flexible and formed of any suitable material.

Mounted on a bottom wall 24 is a base plate 25. This base plate 25 has acentral opening 26 which communicates with a blower generally indicatedat 27 and mounted on the base plate 25. Communicating with the opening26 is an outlet passage 28 formed in the plate 25 and extending in thedirection of one edge thereof.

Formed in the base plate 25 and communicating with the blower 27 is anintake slot 29 which in turn communicates with an intake passage 30extending in the general direction of the passage 28.

The blower 27 may be of any approved construction, including a suitablemotor 26' arranged within the housing 25' and mounted within the blowertank 27 for creating the intake and outlet flow from the blower. Theblower 27 is activated each time the trigger 15 is pulled. Communicatingwith the intake side of the blower 27 is an intake tube 31. The passage28 communicates with an opening 32 formed in an elongated mounting plate33. This plate 33 has a second opening 34 which communicates with theouter end of the intake passage 30 of the blower.

The lower end portion of the conduit 23 connects with a sleeve 35 havingcommunication with the ball stacking tube 36 connected in any suitablemanner to a collar 37 provided by a plate 38 supported by posts 39 inspaced relation with respect to the plate 33. Suitably arranged beneaththe plate 38 between the posts 39 is an elongated slide 43. One endportion 41 of such slide is connected as at 42 to a plunger 43 of anelectromagnetic solenoid 44 having circuit wires 45 which are connectedwith suitable power buses H and N and which circuit is controlled by asuitable switch TRZ in turn actuated by a trigger relay TR controlled bya trigger switch TS actuated by trigger 15 of the gun 14. A suitabletiming circuit including a switch TRl actuated by trigger relay TR maybe used to control the period of operation of the gun.

The opposite end portion of the slide 40 is connected by means of adepending pin 46 to one end portion of a spring 47 in turn connected toa post 48 carried by the plate 33. The spring 47 retains the slide 40normally in a retracted position against the action of the solenoid 44.

A tube 49 is carried by the slide 40 for movement therewith and in itsretracted position opens communication between the opening 34 and thetube 36. When moved from its retracted position to a position to theleft, as viewed in FIG. 2, the tube 49 then communicates with a tube 50to which the end portion of the conduit 17 is connected.

The tube 36 extends into the lower portion of the sleeve 35 with its topend portion 51 disposed above the opening of the intake 31. The endportion 51 is provided with spaced openings '52 which communicate withthe intake 31. This arrangement prevents the balls descending throughthe sleeve 35 from being drawn into the intake portion of the blower 27.The blower 27 may be secured to the base plate 25 in any suitablemanner.

In operation the spent balls which have been projected by the gun 14,find their way into the-hopper 21. From the lower end portion of thehopper 21, the balls, under suction created through the intake conduit23 by the blower 27, are drawn into the tube 36. The balls successi'velypass into the tube 49. In this tube 49* is arranged a transverselyextending pin 53 which prevents the balls from dropping into the intakeopening 34. When the solenoid 44 is energized, the slide 40 will bemoved from the position shown in FIG. 2 with the tube 40' incommunication with the tube 36, to a position where the tube 4%) willregister with the tube 50, each ball being successively transferred fromposition beneath the stacking tube 36 through the firing tube 50 fromwhence the ball under pneumatic pressure created by the blower 27 isdelivered through the conduit 17 to the barrel 16 and thence with amaximum speed projected toward the target. The movement of the slide 40by the electromagnetic solenoid 44 is effected each time the trigger 15is pulled.

An important feature of my invention resides in the fact that the ballor like projectile is received from the conduit 17 at a point remotefrom the barrel 16. This results in the ball retaining its maximum speedunder the pneumatic pressure created by the blower 27 at the time thatthe ball emerges from the barrel 16. When the slide 40 is shifted toposition the tube 49 beneath the tube 50, it will be noted that theintake to the blower 27 through the intake tube 36 is closed by theslide and short-cutted by providing an intake directly through theopening 34. This results in an increased amount of intake into the tank27, with a corresponding increased air pressure from the tank andthrough the tube 17. By comparison I have found that the velocity of theball or other projectile when projected from a gun by the arrangementdisclosed herein, is substantially greater than by the heretofore knownmethods of utilizing a compressor and storage tank which projects a ballat a point directly from the gun rather than, as in the case of myarrangement, from a point therebelow and nearest the outlet of theblower. The blower of my invention may be compared with that used inconnection with vacuum cleaners.

By the arrangement herein disclosed, the ball falls freely from thereceiving hopper to the slide and, with the aid of utilizing the intakeof the blower, the speed of the ball or balls to their position in thestacking tube is substantially increased. While the slide provides aconvenient arrangement for moving the ball from the stacking tube to thefiring tube, it also serves, as hereinbefore pointed out, to provide aby-pass for the intake to the blower, thus providing an intake, whichwill not be restricted by the balls in the stacking tube, as would bethe case with respect to the intake 31.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that I have provided a novelarrangement for receiving spent balls from a. receiving hopper to aposition where the balls are successively moved to a firing tube at apoint closely adjacent the blower and remote from the barrel of the gun,resulting in greater velocity of the balls and aifording a maximumdegree of accuracy.

My invention may be associated with coin-controlled amusement machinesor target practicing apparatuses or open shooting galleries.

An important feature of my invention resides in the fact that during theperiod of time that it takes for the tube 49 to move from positionbeneath the ball stacking tube 36 to a position in communication withthe firing tube, the blower 27 will have started to operate so that bythe time that the tube 49 reaches its position beneath the firing tube17 a sufficient pressure has been created for projecting the ballthrough the firing tube and thence through the barrel 16. It will benoted that the passage through the firing tube =17 and barrel 16 isunobstructed.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form ofconstruction for carrying my invention into effect, this is capable ofvariation and modification without departing from the spirit of theinvention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precisedetails of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of suchvariations and modifications as come within the scope of the appendedclaims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination, a spent ball receiving tube, a firing 'tube, a blowerhaving an intake and an outlet, means providing a connection betweensaid intake and said ball receiving tube, means providing a connectionbetween said :firing tube and said outlet, a ball director havingcommunication with said firing tube, means for successively transferringballs from said ball receiving tube to said firing tube for projectiontherethrough and through said ball director by pneumatic pressuregenerated by said blower, said blower having a second intake providing a'by-pass thereto, and means provided by said transfer means forcontrolling air passage through said by-pass intake when a ball has beentransferred by said means to said firing tube, said transfer meansincluding an electromagnetically operated solenoid and a transfer slideoperatively connected thereto and having a ball receptacle for receivingthe ball from said receiving tube for transfer to said firing tube.

2. The device of claim 1 further characterized by the inclusion of ahopper for receiving spent balls and communicating with said ballreceiving tube for delivering said spent balls to said ball receivingtube.

3. In combination, a blower including an intake and an outlet, saidintake including two openings spaced from each other and one providing aby-pass to said blower, a hopper adapted to receive spent balls, tubemeans connecting said hopper to said intake, a ball director including abarrel, a firing tube connecting said barrel with said outlet, a movableslide having a ball receiving tube normally in communication with saidintake, means for moving said slide from communication with said intaketo a position in communication with said outlet for transferring a ballfrom said ball receiving tube to said firing tube for projection throughthe latter under pneumatic pressure from said blower, said slide havingmeans for opening said by-pass intake when in ball delivery position tosaid firing tube.

4. In combination, a blower including an intake and an outlet, a hopperadapted to receive spent balls, a tube connecting said hopper to saidintake, a ball director including a barrel and a trigger and a switchactuated by the latter, a firing tube connecting said barrel to saidoutlet, a movable slide having a ball receiving tube normally incommunication with said intake, means for mov ing said slide fromcommunication with said intake to a position in communication with saidoutlet for transferring a ball from said ball receiving tube to saidfiring tube for projection through the latter and through said barrelunder pneumatic pressure from said blower, electromagnetic means formoving said slide, and circuit means including a motor for said blowerand said switch and controlled by the latter for simultaneouslyactuating said blower motor and said electromagnetic means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

1. IN COMBINATION, A SPENT BALL RECEIVING TUBE, A FIRING TUBE, A BLOWERHAVING AN INTAKE AND AN OUTLET, MEANS PROVIDING A CONNECTION BETWEENSAID INTAKE AND SAID BALL RECEIVING TUBE, MEANS PROVIDING A CONNECTIONBETWEEN SAID FIRING TUBE AND SAID OUTLET, A BALL DIRECTOR HAVINGCOMMUNICATION WITH SAID FIRING TUBE, MEANS FOR SUCCESSIVELY TRANSFERRINGBALLS FROM SAID BALL RECEIVING TUBE TO SAID FIRING TUBE FOR PROJECTIONTHERETHROUGH AND THROUGH SAID BALL DIRECTOR BY PNEUMATIC PRESSUREGENERATED BY SAID BLOWER, SAID BLOWER HAVING A SECOND INTAKE PROVIDING ABY-PASS THERETO, AND MEANS PROVIDED BY SAID TRANSFER MEANS FORCONTROLLING AIR PASSAGE THROUGH SAID BY-PASS INTAKE WHEN A BALL HAS BEENTRANSFERRED BY SAID MEANS TO SAID FIRING TUBE, SAID TRANSFER MEANSINCLUDING AN ELECTROMAGNETICALLY OPERATED SOLENOID AND A TRANSFER SLIDEOPERATIVELY CONNECTED THERETO AND HAVING A BALL RECEPTACLE FOR RECEIVINGTHE BALL FROM SAID RECEIVING TUBE FOR TRANSFER TO SAID FIRING TUBE.